diff --git a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/esmf/package.py b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/esmf/package.py
index 85faf241caebe4..9485c64df23eb7 100644
--- a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/esmf/package.py
+++ b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/esmf/package.py
@@ -403,6 +403,11 @@ def setup_build_environment(self, env):
         if "~shared" in spec:
             env.set("ESMF_SHARED_LIB_BUILD", "OFF")
 
+        # https://github.com/JCSDA/spack-stack/issues/956
+        if "+shared" in spec:
+            if sys.platform == "darwin":
+                env.set("ESMF_TRACE_LIB_BUILD", "OFF")
+
     @run_after("install")
     def post_install(self):
         install_tree("cmake", self.prefix.cmake)